That's a Promise
by iwantNALEYlove
Summary: NALEY. From soul mates who think they're only best friends to soul mates who know they are meant to be with each other.
1. Chapter 1

Hey everybody. Im a newcomer…well kinda. I had a story a while ago but I deleted it cuz I don't like it any more. I just hope you guys will read this and enjoy it! Btw, this is definitely going to be a naley!!! My favoritest couple ever….lol. but there is a chance of other couples…hmm might freak out and have some fun with that like put jake with Rachel or something but that's just a wild idea. Alright back to this… Ive picked up a lot from reading fanfics so here is some bkg info:

- Nathan Scott, Haley James, Peyton Sawyer, Brooke Davis, Lucas Roe and Jake Roe are best friends since birth. In the beginning of the story, they are all 7 years old. That's subject to change cuz they'll grow up throughout the story.

**Nathan Scott:** parents are Dan and Deb Scott (same messed up family like on the show hehe)

**Haley James:** parents are Jimmy and Lydia James (same cool wacky parents like on the show )

**Peyton Sawyer:** parents are Larry and Anne Sawyer. Mother died at birth. (no Ellie in the story..srry)

**Brooke Davis:** parents are Joe and Suzanne Davis (same like on the show….basically never appear in my fanfic)

**Lucas and Jake Roe:** parents are Keith and Karen Roe (keith and dan have no relation….families are completely separate)

- All the families are very rich except for Haley's, Lucas and Jake's, and Peyton's. they aren't poor but just not as wealthy as the Scotts or Davis'

- Siblings and stuff like that will be stated later! Alright im done rambling…

Read on and I hope you enjoy it!

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"Nathan Scott! Come over here right now!"

'sheesh, who knew a girl could be so bossy' Nathan thought as he made his way towards his best friend.

"Alright, so I decided that I'm going to get up this rusty old thing we call a jungle gym once and for all today!" little Haley James states

"that's great hales but why am I here? Ive already gone up and down that thing like a million times!"

hearing this, haley got a little aggravated, "well mister! Since you're my best friend, ive enlisted your help! Arent you happy?

Nathan rolled his eyes but decided to agree so haley wouldn't get any more rage into her system.

"OKAY. You ready hales?" he wanted to make sure haley was up to doing this

"I was born ready! Come on give me a lift!" yells haley

"okay if you insist." Nathan lifts haley's little form and….

"AHHHH!! Nathan! Why did you lift me?" Nathan was surprised

"well you said you were ready….that kind of meant to me that you were ready to start"

"I said I was ready but you know you have to ask me if I was ready over and over again until I really am!" okay so Nathan scott was beyond confused.

"alright lets start this again, shall we? HALEY JAMES, are you really really ready?" Nathan questions

"…..yes" haley whispers

"you positive! Im going to lift you now, tell me if you want me to stop."

"okay okay." Haley whispers again

Nathan lifts haley so she can put her legs on the bars in front of her and she reaches out and grabs a hold of the jungle gym's metal bars. Gently and slowly, she takes a few steps up afraid of losing her balance..

"come on haley! I know you can do it. Im right here, nothing is going to happen"

"im going as fast as I can here!" Nathan smiled at this comment. He was just trying to encourage her but no, haley james did not accept pity. She was a very independent 7 year old!

"Nathan Nathan! I feel like im slipping. What if I fall and die!? Do you want my toys?" whoa, it sounded like haley was figuring out her little seven year old will.

"Haley, can you please relax. I promise you are not going to fall and if you do, im right here!"

"you're confusing me Nathan, once second you say I wont fall but then you say youll catch me?! Is that implying that I will fall."

'oh gosh, you just had to bring that up, didn't you Nathan?' he thought to himself

trying to get that thought out of her mind, Nathan just urged her to keep going.

All of a sudden, it seems that haley's little butter fingers slipped and she was tipping backwards.

"ahhhhh, Nathan im falling!!" gasped haley

Nathan didn't wait a single second. he quickly climbed up and supported haley's back so she wouldn't fall. He gave her a little push so that she could reach the bars again. As soon as she could, she grabbed them and held on for her life.

"talk about life and death. Now I know what people are talking about when they talk about seeing your life flash before your eyes" haley informed

"yeah, im sure you just had that same kind of experience….." smiled Nathan.

Finally after several minutes of coaxing and reassuring, haley james reached the top of the scary jungle gym.

Now that she reached the top, she didn't seem to want to get down.

"hales, its getting dark out and your parents are probably getting worried." Nathan said

"that's true and im sure your parents are worried too so lets go"

"yeah im not so sure about that" mumbled Nathan but haley heard

"hey nate, your parents love you. You have to know that. Its just that different people have different ways of showing love. But I know for a fact, they do"

'how does a seven year old mind hold that much wisdom?' Thought Nathan. But he was sure glad he had a best friend like haley.

They climbed down the jungle gym and headed home. Nathan and haley always loved to hang out together, just the two of them. But they also missed their friends, Lucas, Brooke, Peyton, and Jake.

Since it was summer, Lucas and Jake were off on vacation visiting their grandparents. Brooke and her family went to the Caribbean for a cruise and Peyton's dad asked her to go boating with him for a week. They would all return in the next couple of days and Haley was excited!

After a long day's…..play, haley and Nathan departed ways but not before doing their little ritual. They always had a little different way of doing it each time but it was all the same.

"hey nate, if I actually fell you would have caught me right?" haley asked

"well probably but you would have crushed me so we'd both end up on the ground" Nathan laughed

"haha your so not funny. Now I know what kind of a best friend I have!" haley stated

"awww" Nathan walked closer to haley "you know im always here for you hales."

"always?" haley pursued asking

"always….but what about you haley. Will you be there for me?" Nathan reassured her.

"im gonna be there for you FOREVER Nathan scott. That's a promise." Haley smiled her wide beautiful smile.

"always nathan scott……"haley whispered

"and forever haley james" Nathan whispered back.

after giving Nathan a final hug, haley climbed up her porch steps and opened her door.

Nathan smiled from where he was standing and went to his house which happened to be right next to haley's and was ready to go in.

Haley waved bye and Nathan returned the gesture. They both went in their respective houses with a smile knowing that each would have the other always and forever.

review!!!!…I want to know what you guys think


	2. Chapter 2

Just to clear some stuff up---Jake and Lucas are twins…. Jake is older by three minutes

Concerning the parents' jobs, all I'm going to say for now is that Dan has Dan Scott Motors, Keith works at his auto shop, Karen has her business, Karen's Café and TRIC might come into the fic later when they get older.

I totally forgot to write the disclaimer last chapter….oops

DISCLAIMER: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of the characters in it. This story is purely my imagination.

Okay, to all the reviewers: thank you so much for reviewing! It means so much to me that you read and liked it. I'm going to try and update as much as I can but my life is so hectic! But all matters aside, I promise I will update as much as I can…well, as long as you guys enjoy it and review!!!

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**Chapter 2**

"_Friends come and friends go but friendships sail on forever."_

"Hi Mrs. James!" said Nathan when Lydia James opened her front door.

"Oh, hey Nathan. How are you? And your parents, I haven't seen them in the longest time!" asked Lydia with enthusiasm even though it was early morning

"I'm fine thanks and my parents too. They're really busy with work….I don't see them much anymore either."

"Oh I'm sure they're just busy…..Look Jimmy, Nathan came to pay us a visit, or maybe he just wanted to see Haley." Lydia remarked as Jimmy James entered the room.

"Hey Nate, hope everything is going well. You hungry?" asked Jimmy

"Well…actually a little bit; didn't have breakfast this morning." Nathan said smiling

"Alright, no worries. We got doughnuts in the kitchen, go ahead and grab yourself one. Don't be shy, we know you aren't."

"Thanks Mr. James. Is Haley awake yet?" questioned Nathan

"Ohh…well you know Haley. If she doesn't have school, she sleeps till lunchtime." Lydia laughed

"Yeah, she's a sleepyhead. But don't worry, I'll wake her up for you guys. I know how hard it is." remarked Nathan smiling.

"Oh, Nathan you're a lifesaver." Lydia grinned

"No problem, see you later Mr. and Mrs. James." Nathan went towards the kitchen.

"Alright, Nathan." Jimmy said

Nathan grabbed a chocolate covered donut with sprinkles and climbed up the stairs. When he entered Haley's room, it was dark and none of the curtains were open.

'He loved this part' he thought. Nathan loved to annoy Haley and to wake her up on a summer day at 9:30 in the morning was one of the best ways of annoying her.

He went towards her bed and yelled right in to her ear "WAKE UP SLEEPYHEAD!"

As soon as he did this, he heard a groan from Haley…well it sounded more like a 'go away, shut up, go burn down under' kind of mumbling but Nathan didn't mind.

He walked over to the curtains and opened them so all the light could flow right in and onto Haley's form on the bed.

"Ugh, what is wrong with you? Waking up before one on a summer day?!" questioned Haley

"um…I think the question is what is wrong with YOU. Hales, nobody sleeps like you do; its like if a stampede came through here and you went flying out of your bed, you still wouldn't wake up." laughed Nathan

"Yeah, well don't blame me, its summer….its what normal kids do. And hey, I would not sleep through a stampede….well maybe but that's only if I was really sleepy." retorted Haley.

"….right…okay then well wake up! It's a great day….let's do something."

"hmmm what about no? I still need my sleep. And you do not need an excuse to come over here. I know you don't like staying in your house since nobody is there. You can always come here Nate. You know I would love for you to." smiled Haley

'how does this girl know me so well!?' the thought just amazed Nathan but he had to admit, he knew quite a lot about Haley too. That's just how they were. They were encyclopedias of each other.

"You know….you should grow up and be a doctor that helps people that are like not willing to open up and stuff." Nathan stated

"You mean psychiatrist, Nate?" Haley grinned

"Yea, yea, yeah. Well whatever. Any room for me, best friend?"

"Always…come on, I know you want to take a nap." Haley slid over on her bed and let Nathan climb in.

Once they both got comfortable, they talked for a while but soon enough they both were asleep. Too bad they forgot to set the alarm clock.

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Two very pissed third graders stood in Haley's room. And no, they were not Nathan and Haley.

"Peyton, where is your camera! You gotta have it, we ran over here and I see you still have your backpack so where is that disposable camera. I need it NOW!" exclaimed Brooke Davis

The other girl started ransacked her backpack looking for that little camera. Finally after finding it in about 20 seconds, she handed it over to her best friend.

Peyton Sawyer and Brooke Davis had returned from vacation on the same day. So this automatically means there must be a welcome home party but no, their two best friends were in bed…sleeping! SLEEPING! How could they forget….well, ready or not, they were going to get a piece of Peyton and Brooke's mind!

"Uh, Brooke…what are you doing taking a picture of Nathan and Haley…sleeping!" asked young Peyton Sawyer

"Are you joking? This picture will entitle us to so much power when we grow up. Like we could….tease them with it and make fun of them, I can't wait to see their faces after realizing that we took a picture of them sleeping!"

"Whoa, you really are a seven year old planning on taking over the world, aren't you?"

"Oh yeah, and don't worry P. Sawyer you are definitely going to be my sidekick. I need a girl sidekick and Haley is way too nice." Brooke laughed

The youthful girl snapped a quick picture of her two best friends sleeping. She had to admit to herself though, these two looked really cute. Nathan and Haley were facing each other and Nathan's little hand was over Haley's waist. Haley had her face right in front of Nathan's chest. They both looked so peaceful. Even though this was supposed to be a photo to blackmail Nathan and Haley by when they get older, Brooke also thought this 'Kodak moment' couldn't be passed by.

"Hey, Brooke. You think we could wake them up now. We just got home from vacationing for like a bajillion days and they aren't even awake when we get here!? I thought you told me you called Haley yesterday." Peyton exclaimed

"Excuse me! I did call Haley and I told her exactly when we were coming and that she better be ready to welcome us. Guess she fell asleep on the job…and so did Nathan."

Peyton and Brooke walked over to either side of the bed and contemplated on how to wake the two sleeping kids up. Suddenly, Brooke's face lit up and Peyton could see she was ready to do some damage.

"I got a great idea! I'm sure Haley's parents won't mind if we go grab some stuff from the kitchen….to, you know; help us with waking them up." Brooke stated

Peyton was utterly confused, "eww Brooke, are you thinking of like putting whipped cream on them or something?"

Brooke had a mischievous smile on her face now, "No I was not but hey, that's a great idea. But to get this over with FAST, I have a different plan."

Both girls hurried downstairs using the same set of stairs that Nathan used to get upstairs that morning; it led right into the kitchen. In a matter of seconds, they were back upstairs in Haley's room with their "equipment".

They crept next to either side of the bed and counted off in whispers.

"1……..2………3!"

All of a sudden there was a loud BANG sound.

Nathan and Haley both jerked awake. Haley was scared out of her mind and grabbed onto Nathan but Nathan just looked around and saw two girls, a blonde and a brunette laughing their butts off in the corner of the room, both holding a steel pan that Lydia used to cook.

Looking at the girl hiding behind him on the bed, Nathan said "Hales, calm down. It's just two evil girls that you call your best friends, well that is after awesome me."

"Shut up, Nathan Scott! You know your proud to call us your best friends too!" exclaimed Brooke.

"Yeah, whatever. If you say so." Nathan mumbled

Haley after hearing what Nathan said, opened her eyes and saw her two girl best friends She became ecstatic. All of a sudden she turned towards the alarm clock, it read 1:30 PM. Haley cringed while looking back at the other girls, she was getting ready for what was about to come at her. After all, Brooke had told her they would BOTH be arriving back in town that day and be at Haley's house by 1:00. And Haley had promised not to forget.

"OH, that's right Haley James! I….WE are very mad at you! How could you forget after I just told you yesterday!?" Brooke shouted

Haley got up from her bed and stood in front of Brooke and Peyton, "I am so sorry guys, I totally overslept. If Nathan hadn't come over and woke me up in the middle of my sleep I would have been awake." Haley turned around and glared at Nathan who was still sitting on the bed.

"Hey! Do not blame this on me." Nathan countered

Haley knew she had to make up for her mistake. "Hey, why don't we go to the park? It's such a great day outside." she mimicked Nathan from that morning.

"Sure. Let's go! You up for it, Nate?" Peyton asked

"Yeah, let me just go grab my basketball and then we can go." At this, Brooke groaned. "Do you really think anybody is going to play with you? Luke and Jake are still on vacation. And I am not playing."

"That's okay. Hales is always up for playing, right?"

"Uhhh…what? Haley, since when do you play that……….game???" Brooke and Peyton looked lost.

"Well, Nate showed me how to shoot and stuff over the summer. I'm actually pretty good. Well that's what Nathan says." Haley smiled.

"I just said you were good for a girl." Nathan assured the other girls.

Brooke turned to Peyton, "Sawyer, a lots changed since we left. When did Haley become a stand-in boy and when did Nathan sleep past 10 in the morning? They're all out of wack."

"I know! Something is wrong here." Peyton and Brooke carried on their conversation like the other two weren't even there.

"HELLO! We're right here. Stop talking about us like we can't hear you because we can!" Haley yelled.

Peyton broke out into a grin. She loved how overdramatic Haley was sometimes.

"Come on, let's go to the park. I've missed my best friends, its time for us to spend some time together!" Brooke pulled Nathan and Haley alongside her. Haley quickly grabbed Peyton's hand and they all followed Brooke down the stairs and out the door.

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Hope you liked it. Sorry it took me so long to post a second chapter but I hope it was worth the wait….at least a little bit.

I hope my punctuation got a little better cuz I seemed to be missing a lot last time. Okay so all you have to do now is review and tell me what you think of this chapter. Thank you!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey..im sooo sorry I havent updated in almost two weeks! Ahhh. I really wanted to but sometimes afterschool activities are just TOO MUCH! Okay so onto more important stuff…I have the story building in my head since I don't have time to write it down. So don't worry, im not forgetting about this story. Any moment that im not doing anything, im thinking about the story. Lol alright maybe that's a little exaggerated.**

**To the reviewers!!! Thank you sooooo soooo much!!! Getting seven reviews for the first chapter literally made my JAW DROP! Lol I have a feeling my second chapter wasn't as good since I only got three reviews for that (. Im sorry if it stinked but please keep reviewing. You all keep me going. Make sure you tell me what you like or don't cuz I want to know both! Thank you all again!**

**p.s. SLUVER15: you added my story onto your faves? Im honored! Lol thank you!**

**Just so you all know, this chapter is still when they are seven years old. **

**ENJOY!!**

**Chapter 3**

_"I can trust my friends. These people force me to examine, encourage me to grow."  
-Cher_

At this moment, four anxious kids were waiting in front of a two-story brick house. For who you might ask? Yes you guessed it, for the rest of their 'group'. Lucas and Jake were supposed to have arrived some time ago but since they hadn't so the four were trying to busy themselves with something so they wouldn't get more worried. Brooke was searching through her pink backpack looking for chapstick or as her mom likes to call it 'lipstick for little girls'. Mrs. Davis thought that Brooke was too young to be wearing makeup so she gave Brooke chapstick, Brooke knew she couldn't win the argument. After all, she was really young! Peyton on the other hand was doing what she always does nowadays, drawing in her notepad. Lately, she drew in her book all the time and Brooke recognized it. She also saw that Peyton was increasingly getting better. Haley was another story. She was always the first person to get nervous, worried, FREAKED OUT, etc. But for some reason, today, she was just sitting on Lucas and Jake's porch thinking.

Nathan, seeing how Haley seemed too quiet headed over to see what was wrong.

"Hey Hales, everything okay?" questioned Nathan

For a second, Haley seemed to be off in lalaland…but then she answered, "Yeah, mhmm, why?"

"Uh what about the fact that you're not running around crazily since Jake and Luke aren't here yet!"

"Uhh…is it time for them to get here yet?"

"YES! They were supposed to get here thirty minutes ago….freaking out yet?" questioned Nathan again

"Well, they're probably just caught up in traffic or something. I'm sure its nothing bad."

"WHAT! That's usually what I say when you go crazy. What's wrong? Hales, I can read you like a book now tell me what's going on."

"Since when did you like to read so much that you can read me like a book?" smiled Haley "But yeah, I'm thinking about how Brooke and Peyton are back and Jake and Lucas are going to come any minute…" Haley faded out

"I KNOW! Everybody's back….but why aren't you happy!? All our friends are back from vacation and I know you had too much of me this summer so…come on, get happy!" laughed Nathan even though he was slightly worried.

"You're going to laugh at me when I say this but since everybody's coming back, it means school's starting up…"

Now Nathan was confused, yes school was starting but that's the kind of stuff Haley James lived for in her seven years. "Well, Hales, what's so bad about school? You love it."

"Yeah, but that was before Rachel and her whole group decided to make fun of me. I never did anything to her and she just…hates me." Haley said in her sad, small voice

"Don't worry about her. Ignore her; she just doesn't have any real friends to hang out with so she uses up all her time teasing people. But don't worry, you have Brooke, Peyton, Lucas, Jake, and remember Hales, you have me."

'awwww' thought Haley. Her best friend was just too good to be true….well sometimes. "Thanks Nate. I really love you, you know that?" grinned Haley

"Ewww, that's disgusting." Nathan made a face.

"Nate, I love you and you can't get away from me! HAHA!" Haley wrapped her arms around Nathan and hugged as hard as she could while laughing

"Oh man…." He finally gave into the hug. "Really Haley, I'm always going to be here for you…that's a promise."

"Always, Nathan Scott"

"And forever, Haley James"

"HEY, YOU TWO! Look who's here!!!" Brooke said jumping up and down

Nathan and Haley diverted their stares from each other and looked into the driveway and saw the familiar Roe pick-up truck and two seven year old boys' faces pressed against the window looking as happy as two puppies ready to play.

'Hmmm, maybe this isn't a bad thing.' Haley thought. She had to admit, she really missed everybody.

Two hours later and the kids were sitting at the Sawyer's kitchen drinking lemonades still talking nonstop.

"GUYS, the road trip to Grandma's was sooo much fun! Me and Lucas had such a good time." Exclaimed Jake

"Yeah, it really was great. It really stinked that you guys weren't there though. It would have been loads more fun if all six of us went." Lucas said agreeing

Suddenly, Brooke's eyes lit up with an idea "OMGOSH! I've a great idea! How about we make a pact that when we get older right before we go to college, we'll go on a road trip together?"

"Alright, but I we can't play any of those weird car games that families play when they go on trips. Gosh I have nightmares of the one I used to play with my grandparents when I was like five!" Peyton said

"Sure….Sawyer….no car games." Brooke winked at Haley

"Sure, I'm in and I'm sure Jake, Luke, and Nate would love too also." Haley assured

"ooooh, I can't wait till we get older!" Brooke stated excitedly

_**ONE hour later**_

"I swear, Luke and Brooke are going to get so dizzy after that!" Haley pointed towards the two kids going down the slide then up again then going down the slide again.

Nathan laughed, "Yeah, well that'll teach them a lesson. Anyways, I'm going to go over to the monkey bars. My dad says it's a good way to build muscles." Nathan groaned

"Nate, you're seven! Gosh, your dad is getting on my nerves!" little Haley yelled

Nathan just laughed and walked towards the bars.

It was an hour later and they all were at the park just five minutes away from Peyton's house. Brooke and Lucas were going crazy going down the slide a million times. Peyton was sketching in her art book…yet again. Jake was reading a book sitting down next to Peyton. And Haley was sitting on the swings just moving slightly; she never liked going high on the swings. It made her feel as if she were going to fly off and get hurt.

Suddenly, someone approached Haley and introduced himself. Even though she wasn't supposed to talk to strangers, this boy seemed her age and looked very nice.

"Hi, I'm Marvin….never mind just call me Mouth."

Haley laughed 'who would want to call themselves Mouth?' But anyways she answered, "Hey Mouth, I'm Haley. Are you new? Cause I've never seen you before" inquired the little girl

"Yeah, my family just moved here last week."

"That's nice. So…where do you live?" asked Haley

"Oh, I think it's just down this street. Sorry, it's hard to remember with all of these houses." Mouth said while casually walking behind Haley. "So, let me push you." He said

"No, it's okay" Haley said slightly worried

"No, really. I love going high on the swings, it's so much fun!"

"NO! Pleas don't. I hate going high." Haley pleaded

"Come on, just try it."

Mouth started to push Haley on the swing….and like expected, Haley started to freak out. She knew that telling Mouth wouldn't stop him since well….she already told him and he didn't agree with it. So she went with her gut and screamed…

"NATHAAAAAAANNN!!!!!" Haley screamed for Nathan since she knew he was the closest at the monkey bars and well….he promised he would be there for her.

As soon as Nathan heard his best friend's shriek, he ran over to see what could have caused it. 'What the heck is that kid doing?' Nathan thought looking at Mouth. He ran over to Haley's swing and brought it to an abrupt stop which caused her to gently slip off but Nathan was in front of her so she wouldn't get hurt. Then he turned towards Mouth and Haley could swear she saw steam coming out of Nathan's ears. Haley knew she couldn't let Nathan hurt Mouth, Mouth didn't think too much of what he was doing.

"Nate, it's okay. He didn't know I didn't like it." Haley suggested

Mouth looked like a deer caught in headlights. Nathan asked, "Well Hales, did you tell him you don't like to swing high?"

"Well…yeah—" but Nathan cut her off "Then he should have known not to have pushed you!"

"Look at me, Nate. No cuts, no bruises; I'm fine. He made a mistake…it's okay." assured Haley

Nathan finally looked defeated, he knew he wouldn't do anything to this kid if Haley really objected to it and it seemed like she did. Now, Haley looks towards Mouth's innocent face and almost laughed.

"Nathan, this is Mouth; _our_ new friend."

"Mouth, this is Nathan; my bestest friend."

Now that introductions were done between them, Haley decided to call over the rest of their gang so she could introduce them to the new kid.

"Brooke, Luke, Jake, Peyt! Can you come over here pleaseeee?" Haley yelled

Jake, Lucas, Peyton, and Brooke arrived; Brooke and Lucas looking very tired and very out of it while Jake and Peyton were relaxed and calm.

"Hey guys, this is Mouth. He's new around here so let's make him feel welcome!" now turning to Mouth, Haley said "Mouth, this is Peyton, Jake, Lucas, and Brooke" pointing to each boy/girl as she said their name

Nathan still looked like he was going to pound Mouth into the playground. 'What kind of name is Mouth anyways? Couldn't his parents think of something else….bet his sister's name is nose…dork.' Nathan thought.

Haley could sense the tension radiating off of Nathan so she leaned and whispered in his ear, "Calm down! He made a mistake and you saved me, it's okay. Oh yeah, by the way thanks for taking care of the problem; I don't know what I would have done." smiled Haley

Nathan eased up and grinned back at Haley. Haley always had that effect on Nathan like none other; she could cool him down in a heated moment.

"Come on Mouth, you can play on the slides with me and Lucas; it is SO MUCH FUN!" Brooke encouraged and pulled Mouth alongside her.

Peyton and Jake just smiled and went back to do their own activities while Brooke, Lucas, and Mouth went to the slides again. Haley and Nathan stayed back and hung around the swings till they all had to leave.

Out of the six in the gang, Haley and Nathan were the only ones who had houses right next to each other. Everybody's were pretty close together but not neighboring like theirs. They all headed their own way when they reached their street. Since Mouth was still a little lost, Peyton and Jake volunteered to help him find his way back to his house. The four left passed Brooke's house and she left. Then came Lucas' house in which he ran inside saying that he really needed to go to the bathroom. Haley and Nathan, the last two, were the last to say their goodbyes to each other, promising that they'd see each other bright and early the next day. Or maybe just late since they both had problems with oversleeping during the summer.

**What do you guys think? Review, review, review! Please. And please tell me your honest opinion cuz I'll change something if you guys really don't like it. **

**Push the button and review and make my day…..soo much happier!**

**Thank youuuuu…. angiie **


	4. Chapter 4

**I always don't like it when authors don't update regularly so this kind of means I dislike myself very much cause I thought I wasn't going to do that…..I'm so so so sorry to all the readers. I admit to being the worst author/hypocrite ever.**

**So to make at least some of you less pissed with me, I decided to make the characters grow up….a little bit. Enjoy reading and leave reviews.**

**Chapter 4**

_Life without friendship is like the sky without sun.  
--Anonymous_

_6 years later_

"And she shoots….and…..SCORES!" Mouth McFadden exclaimed into his pretend microphone.

"Yet another point for the Scames team ladies and gentlemen!" he adds.

"What the heck is a Scames?" a dumbfounded Peyton inquires

Mouth, looking slightly embarrassed, answered, "Uh…its Haley and Nathan's last name put together."

"Gosh, nobody does that. And besides, Scames sounds like something disgusting like an infection or something. Eww." Brooke said

Peyton just smiled at Brooke and Mouth and looked out onto the Rivercourt.

'Another game of basketball…wow, when will the madness stop' she thought.

It was always like this: Nathan and Haley against Jake and Lucas. And somehow the 'Scames' team always won. Haley was a great player but not nearly as good as Jake and Lucas who played on the eighth grade basketball team along with Nathan. But whenever Haley got the ball, she always made it. Well that might be because Nathan made sure that the boys weren't near her. He always gave her a boost of confidence when he encouraged her and then she _always_ made it in.

"YAY for me….I rock at this sport!!!" Haley complimented…herself

"Good job Nate….we win again…_how_ _do we do it_!!"

Nathan couldn't help smile at Haley's innocent grin that enveloped her young, thirteen year old face. Gosh his best friend really was one of a kind.

"Uh huh, yeah great. Woop-ti-doo, now can we go to Karen's and grab a bite to eat…please! You know an eighth-grader needs nutrition!" Brooke exclaimed.

"Sure Brooke. We know that the only reason you want to go to Karen's Café is because you want to eat. It has nothing to do with the fact that you're new crush, Josh Starutch, will be there." asked Peyton

"Oh please P.Sawyer.." Brooke said blushing. "That isn't it at all. Now, LET'S GO!"

"But wait, first since we won, Haley what do you want as your prize?" Nathan asks.

"Oh yeah….hmmm I want a piggy back ride!!! From either Jake or Luke since they lost…" Haley said while grinning

"Alright, we got to settle who will give this little monster a piggy back ride…I say we play rock-paper-scissor and the person who loses has to give her the piggy back ride." Jake compromises

"HEY! You all are privileged to know me! I think you guys should play rock-paper-scissor to let the winner give me a piggy back ride!" Haley argues.

"Right….alright Jake, loser gives her the ride."

"But Nate….what do you want as your prize?" Haley questions.

"Uhh….somebody pays for my food at Karen's?"

"But that's already free since duh, it's KAREN!" Mouth assures

"Oh, then whatever, it's okay I don't want anything."

"Awww….Nate you're so sweet." Haley gushes and then immediately hits Lucas when she hears him snorting to her comment.

After the LONG rock-paper-scissor duel, Luke ends up having to give Haley the piggy back ride. Nathan, Brooke, and Peyton talk amongst each other while walking in front of Luke who has Haley on his back and Jake and Mouth who are keeping conversation with them. As soon as the seven kids reach Karen's, Brooke hurries in to get the closest table available to a certain black-haired, hazel-eyed boy.

When all of them sit, they all order their usual. Peyton's being buffalo-chicken burger with fries. Brooke orders her salad with chicken strips and Italian dressing. Mouth orders his bleu cheese burger with extra bleu cheese. Luke and Jake order the chicken parmesan. Nathan orders pancakes with blueberries and whipped cream and Haley orders her waffles with just whipped cream knowing that she'll just steal some blueberries from Nathan who's sitting right next to her.

Brooke always thought that Nathan and Haley's weird habit of ordering breakfast at any time of the day was weird but she just accepted it. What was she supposed to do? Stop being friends with them because they have weird addictions…yeah, that would work out well.

When lunner (Mouth's special name…yes another one…for a meal between lunch and dinner) was over Brooke suggested to go watch a movie at the local theater. As soon as she said this, Peyton agreed with a "Yes! Let's do that." and Nathan with a "Yeah, I'm up to it." Haley knew something was up and then she suddenly thought of the reason why these three were jumping to the occasion.

"Tomorrow's a MONDAYYYY…the BEST DAYYYY….for a SCHOOL DAYYY!" Haley shouts.

The others look at as if she just grew a second head.

"Alright..since the three of you are missing your parental units, I shall take their place." Haley pauses and clears her throat. "Have you guys finished your homework?"

Brooke suddenly looks toward the boy a few tables away and tries to ignore the question. Peyton finds the table spread very interesting and Nathan starts to chew the side of his cheek. Haley suddenly realized all of their maneuvers and took action.

"Alright, Brooke what do you have to?"

"Ummm…a few stupid math problems. Alright, not a few, more like twenty but whatever." Brooke answers

"Peyt?" Haley questions her next _student_

"Reading the next kajillion chapters in To Kill A Mockingbird"

"Nathannn?"

"A…" cough "…..history….project." cough.

"Alright Brooke, Peyton you guys need to finish your homework! Brooke stop gazing dreamily at that perv over there" Haley points to the table where Josh Starutch is sitting. "Go home…come on giddy up girlies…goooo."

"And Nate…I'm presuming you need some help cause it took me a while to finish that history project by myself." Haley states

"Yeah…that would be great…thanks."

"You guys can go watch a movie or whatever since I'm going to help Nathan with his project." Haley says as if giving permission to the other three boys left at the table.

"Alright Hales, Nate…see ya." Jake says

Luke gives a goodbye nod and Mouth says "Catch up with you guys tomorrow."

After slaving over the history project for about two hours…Haley and Nathan are done.

"Hey Hales, just to show how much I appreciate your help…want some icecream?" and before Haley asks, Nathan adds "Yes, with the mini marshmallows and chocolate syrup." Haley's face breaks into a huge smile and nods her head eagerly.

Twenty minutes later, Haley and Nathan are sitting on his living room couch watching a rerun of 7th Heaven. Nathan got suckered into it by Haley's 'oh so sweet' innocent face.

"Alright, Nate…consider me a God send because I need to go home and finish some….homework. So you can stop watching 7th Heaven."

"WHAT! You didn't finish your homework….no way. And you helped me with mine and you didn't even finish yours. Sorry."

Haley couldn't believe it. First she thought he would be amazed at the fact that Haley James, the nerd, did not finish her homework and then call her a hypocrite but he didn't do any of that…except maybe the amazed part. He said sorry!? 'Alright, I'm not a God send, he is. I have such an awesome best friend!'

"Nate..don't worry about it. It's like a tiny prelab worth like a tiny portion of my grade."

"Alright that doesn't matter…go go go. I'm not letting you waste any more of your time. It's already 8..and you have to go to sleep soon. Gooooo! See ya tomorrow." Nathan said while ushering Haley out the door.

_Next Morning_

_DING DONG_

Nathan suddenly opens his door clad in his navy blue sweater and jeans.

"Yes, the school nazi has arrived, knocking at your door, ready to start the day!" Haley exclaims.

All Nathan could do was laugh, grab his school bag, along with the poster for his history project and head out the door with Haley.

Nathan, Haley, Jake, and Luke climbed onto the middle school bus grabbing their regular seats in the middle of the bus. In the beginning of the school year, Nathan wanted to sit in the back of the bus but Haley was stubborn in sitting in the front. But luckily they came to a compromise…right smack in the middle.

Brooke, Peyton, and Mouth got on the bus at the next stop grabbing their seats.

Finally, the bus arrived at Tree Hill Middle School and all the kids stepped out...most not ready to face the day but one very excited girl definitely ready to start the school day…guess who.

"Alright people are lucky to know me…see you all at lunch time." Brooke says while pulling Mouth to their first period Science class.

"Okay byeeee…..see you guys at lunch time…and hopefully with smiles on your faces..gosh, cheer up!" Haley chimes while walking away.

_Lunchtime_

"Alrighty, this lunch spot stinks…majorly." Peyton voices while sitting down to the group's lunch spot next to the garbage can in the cafeteria.

"I agree, this better change next year. In high school, we got to get a better lunch spot….we HAVE TO!" Lucas promises.

"Okay…chill Luke, we will." Haley says while laughing.

"So what are we doing after school guys?" Jake asks while unwrapping his sandwich.

"Well I am much deprived of girl time so guys are out for tonight." Brooke lazily says while looking desperately for a certain boy.

"You said no guys for today…so stop looking for that stupid perv." Luke stubbornly says.

"How come you guys call him a perv! He is not a perv! He is so sweet…and kind…and caring…hmmm" Brooke says going off to dream land again.

"Anyways, well what about foosball guys? At my house." Nathan questions.

"Yeah..I'm always up for foosball….wait, what's foosball?" Mouth asks.

Jake starts chuckling "It's okay Mouth, just come over…we'll explain it to you…in simple terms."

Peyton couldn't help herself from laughing out loud either.

"Okay, so Hales…what about Brooke's house tonight for our infamous girls night."

"Yes, that will be fine as long as everybody's homework" Haley says pointing to the rest in the group "will be done before we start tonight's activities."

"Gosh Hales…so proper. And should you be talking about finishing homework…ahem ahem" Nathan mumbles. Haley suddenly pokes Nathan under the table causing him to shut up.

"Yeah, yeah… Miss do your homework at home not at school before class starts." Brooke teases.

Suddenly the lunch bell rings signaling that the lunch period was over.

The group splits up with Jake and Peyton going to Math, Luke and Brooke going to History, and Jake, Haley, Mouth, and Nathan going to gym…probably so that Haley could embarrass herself. 'Lord knows that I can not play soccer…but I guess he likes testing me.' Haley thought as she headed off with Nate by her side.

**I know the quote in the beginning of this chapter is kind of cheesy…but I thought it was cute.**

**Just to say this again….I'm soo sorry. I can't give any excuses since they probably aren't any. I appreciate all of you that reviewed…it really meant a lot. Thank you!**

**Please review…about the good and the bad…**

**Hope you liked it! Make me happy and press the little button… )**

**--angiie--**


	5. Chapter 5

**I want to thank everybody for the reviews! I'm so glad that some of you have stuck with the story and others have started reviewing it also. Thank you! I can do personal replies for the next chapter if you guys want. Since I'm new, I don't really know a lot of people on the board but I guess this is how I find out. Okay, hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter 5**

"_What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies_."

--_ Aristotle_

'Okay so gym wasn't a total disaster…but it was still pretty embarrassing. Like the time when Caroline, my team mate, kicked me the ball and I thought that I could bounce it off my thigh like they do in the soccer games but I ended up trying to kick it with my foot and did a pirouette and fell on my face….yes Haley, very graceful.' Haley thought to herself. Gym was the one period that she did not feel excited for….ever! That just proved to her how different she was from her best friends. For example, Nathan is a sports god while she is a sports disgrace.

Haley was getting ready to go to Brooke's house for girl's night. She pulled on an old pair of Angel jeans and a pale yellow tank top with light orange butterflies on it. She grabbed her shoulder bag and stuffed some snacks in it for later and headed out.

"FINALLY! Where have you been?" Brooke yelled as soon as Haley entered the Davis house.

"Yeah…like really Haley, we have just been dying to…paint our toenails, eat junk food and talk about boys." Peyton laughed "Brooke, chill."

Brooke after venting about how it definitely was a big deal decided that they could chill in her room and talk.

Peyton, noticing the solemn look on Brooke's face, decided to take action.

"Alright B. Davis what's wrong?"

"What do you mean? Nothing's wrong."

"No, something is definitely off with you. I've been sensing it too. Come on Brookie…" Haley said

"It's just that…Josh isn't noticing me at all! Is there something wrong with me…like you guys would tell me if I had something stuck in my teeth or in my hair or something, right? Cause if you wouldn't you're not very good friends!" She had to catch her breath.

"Babe, calm down. I think something is wrong with that boy up in the head." Peyton assured her.

"Yeah, like especially in the brain part. I don't think he got any of the uh….God given knowledge." Haley chided

"Really Brookie, if he doesn't like you then obviously he doesn't know what he's missing. You're an amazing girl and friend that I don't know what I would do without."

"Brooke, you're our bestest friend and we would never lie to you. Now I'm telling you really….you're so sweet and perfect and that Starurtch kid is an idiot so let him go and move on and I have an idea how…" Peyton wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"Ooooh me too!" Haley agreed

"What are you guys talking about?" Brooke asked amidst her sadness.

"One of your best friends is so head over heels in like with you but you never know it could turn into love if you feel the same way." Peyton smiled

"Jake?" Brooke asked.

"NO!" Peyton shouted suddenly

Haley and Brooke just gave her questioning looks.

"Uhh…Mouth?"

"Nope…"

"Okay so two left…Nate or Luke?"

"Is that a serious question?" Peyton asked with a 'duh' look on her face.

"Oh right, Nate….I can't compete with Haley."

"What?!!"

"Chill Hales…gosh. Wait…LUKE!?" Brooke realized "You think Luke is head over heels in like with me? First of all, Luke doesn't have heels…well at least I hope he doesn't."

"It's a figure of speech." Haley laughed thinking about Lucas prancing around in heels…and then falling on his butt.

"Whatever….sure you girls don't know what you're talking about."

"Brooke, I'm not going to say you're not good at giving boy advice but you really can't get a clue when it comes to your own relationships." Peyton pointed out

"Well I feel like a pillow fight." Brooke stated.

"What are we like in fifth-grad—" Haley could barely finish her sentence before being hit in the face with a fluffy pillow by…Brooke.

"Alright, this is war." Haley said while picking up another pillow and Peyton picked up one also.

The girl's night lasted all about two hours since Haley wanted to get home before nine so she could talk to her parents about something.

So now Haley was back home and all tired out and just about ready to go to bed. But first she went over to her window to check on Nathan. She looked through and saw that nobody was in his room and it was nearly 10:30. Haley went downstairs and looked through the dining room window and saw that Nathan was sitting on his porch looking up to the sky. Without her parents hearing her, Haley snuck out and headed over.

Even though Haley was trying her best to sneak over quietly, she couldn't in classic Haley James style she had to trip and fall.

"Oww!"

Nathan, recognizing the voice, stood up and rushed over to look what was wrong.

"Hales, you shouldn't be wandering around alone at night! Something could happen."

"Nate, we live like two seconds apart. And I wasn't wandering, I was coming to see you."

"We may live two seconds apart but I guess all you need is a second to fall on your face." Nathan said laughing out loud.

"Shhh!" Haley smacked him on the back of his head "Shut up! I was coming over to ask you how foosball was and all you can do is make fun of me."

"Sorry Hales…foosball was okay. We taught Mouth what it was and by the end he had it and was beating us all…..who am I kidding? He didn't beat me but he was close to beating Jake."

"You have such a big ego man…"

"Aww…you think of me as a man." Nathan grinned

Haley couldn't help herself from smiling; Nathan could make her laugh at the most random times.

"You're so lucky I love you." Haley said without thinking

"I know I am; I wouldn't ever take that for granted." Nathan replied

"I'm going to head home. I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine...don't worry so much. It gives you wrinkles."

"You're so unexpected Scott."

"Hey Hales.." Nathan asked just as Haley reached her door

"What?" Haley whispered back

"Always…"

"and Forever. 'Nite loser."

_Wednesday Morning_

"This stinks." Brooke informed everybody else on the school bus

"Thanks for the input Brooke." Mouth answered "What's wrong?"

"Josh….can I sue a person under the causes that they made me become a cat lady?"

"Yeah, I think that will be a great case." Haley assured her

"Hey, I got an idea. What about we make a pact? We'll all go to Junior Prom together in high school just to make sure that no one goes alone." Lucas proposed

"Ooh, good idea Lukey! Mouth I call you!"

"Peyt?" Jake asked

"Sure, why not."

Haley seeing the look on Luke's face when Brooke asked Mouth felt sorry for him.

"Hey Luke, what about…"

"No way Hales, Luke's mine!" Brooke called "What I can't take two guys? Hello we have four guys and three girls in our group, somebody had to take two."

"What! Then who will I go with?" Haley innocently asked

"Hello, invisible man just sitting here waiting for someone to ask him." Nathan randomly confessed

"Oh you! Do I know you…oh well whatever, you want to go to Junior prom with me?" Haley asked with a grin

"Hmmm yeah whatever."

Haley just poked him in the side

"So I got to tell you guys about something and you have to tell me the truth." Haley looked at her friends intensely when they got off the school bus

"What is it Hales?" Nathan asked

"I was thinking of what I would do in high school when you all are either cheerleading or doing something with basketball after school. I want to do something after school also so I was thinking of tutoring."

"That's a good idea Haley, you're really good at helping all of us with our homework." Lucas said

"Yeah, you're going to be an awesome tutor. Think about all the dumb people you'll help." Brooke put in

"Like Tim Smith. Everybody knows that boy needs brains." Peyton added

"Yeah, a working brain." Jake agreed

"So Haley, are you going to look more into it?" Mouth questioned

"Yeah, I heard that today some kids are coming from high school after school ends to show case some clubs and activities that they offer. So I told my parents about it yesterday and they said that I should look into it. I'm so happy you guys are good with it also."

"Oh so that's why you needed to get home early yesterday." Peyton realized

Haley just nodded.

"OH! I got a new nickname for Haley!" Brooke yelled

"Aww, I kind of liked calling her baby James." Jake said while messing with Haley's hair

"Yeah well we can use both now…what about tutor-girl?" Brooke suggested

"It has a good ring to it." Peyton agreed

"Stop getting carried away guys; who knows if I will actually tutor." Haley smiled

"We know you will Hales, whenever you put your mind to something you always achieve it." Nathan told her

"Aww, okay. I like tutor-girl."

"Good now let's get to class before we're late Baby James/Tutor-Girl." Mouth interrupted

_After School_

Haley was on her way to the Cafeteria to see all the presentations. The high school kids had just reached and were setting up each of their tables about their own clubs. As soon as she walked in, Haley noticed the table with the tri-fold that said 'Feel Good Because You Helped Someone. Become a Tutor at Tree Hill High' and headed over.

There were about three kids from high school that were representing the tutoring program. When Haley was reading the tri-fold, she saw from the corner of her eye, one of the guys whispering to a girl and looking at Haley. Suddenly, she realized he was heading over to where she was standing. Something about his look just made Haley feel uneasy.

"Hi there. My name's Jack Efaco. I'm a sophomore in high school and I tutor. Seems like we have something in common. Are you interested in tutoring?"

"Yeah, I'm just reading everything to get a feel of things."

"Well you can always ask me instead of just reading. I'm a good source of information." He said while stepping forward.

"Hmm…right." Haley now felt uncomfortable with Jack so close to her

"Uhh, I'm going to go. Thanks for…helping me."

"Sure, but don't forget to take an info packet. Here." Jack said handing her one. "Bye Haley, hope to see you soon."

'Yeah, in your dreams bud. Eww…wait I hope not.' Haley thought to herself as she made her way to where Luke said they all would be; the gym.

Haley just couldn't shake off the feeling that guy gave her; it was mysterious in an all too weird way.

**So…what did you think? Leave reviews….**

**And also tell me if you would like a personal reply, thanks for reading!**

**--angiie--**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 is finally here….and hopefully it was kind of worth the wait. Well good news, school ends on Monday which means more updates and hopefully more consistent too. I was thinking about how long the story should be. I know so many stories that are LONG but really good but then again I know a ton of stories which are like ten chapters and also really good. So after I plan the chapters out, I'll give everybody a heads up on the length of this story. Enjoy )**

**Chapter 6**

"_I knew from the moment I met you that I was going to protect you and I'm not going to let you down."_

As soon as Haley stepped into the gym she saw her two very best girl friends painting each others toenails and her guy friends playing basketball. It seemed that Mouth wasn't there right then. Suddenly, her sour mood turned into a happy and humorous one just by seeing that Brooke and Peyton were actually painting each others nails in the GYMNASIUM at school. Yup, one of a kind.

"Are you serious?" Haley said out loud

"Hey tutorgirl! What's happening?" Brooke asked

"Tutorgirl? Oh wait, don't tell me.." Haley motioned to Peyton who was about to explain. "Brooke is actually sticking to her nickname that she gave me?"

"Well I think it has a nice ring to it and I'm sticking to it."

"Haley, just leave her be. You know how stubborn she is." Peyton stated

"HELLO! Hi, Brooke Davis here…_former_ best friend of you two sluts who are talking behind my back."

"Brookie, we're talking in front of you! We're right here, you're hearing everything we're saying." Haley smiled

"Yeah, well it would have been better if you were talking behind my back cause then at least I wouldn't know about it for a while. But you're talking like I'm not even here!"

"Chill child…." Peyton said being the peacemaker of the group

Haley put down her books and the flyer the Efaco guy gave to her and walked onto the basketball court. She was pretty sure none of the boys saw her yet or at least they hadn't said 'Hi' yet and if they actually had seen her and didn't say 'Hi' on purpose she was going to be pissed.

She stood a few feet behind Luke and Jake who seemed to be playing against Nathan. Haley started jumping up and down with one of her hands waving in the air at Nathan who was facing her and her other hand to her mouth in a 'shhh' motion.

Nathan, realizing that Hales was trying to help him out of his current situation of being double-teamed, passed the ball across the court to her. Haley caught it..barely…and half dribbled, half ran to the basket and shot it in. You didn't actually think that Haley knew how to play basketball…did you? Nathan had helped her over that summer but she still didn't understand the mechanics of traveling and other things like that. If she was good at basketball, she wouldn't be barely passing Gym now would she?

Haley did her little victory dance (after Nathan had rebounded her shot which didn't go in when she threw it) and jumped onto Nathan in a hug-embrace kind of way. Nathan couldn't help but grin like an idiot when he saw his best friend laughing in his arms and pointing at Jake and Luke in a teasing manner.

"You do realize that you pretty much ran with the ball which is called _traveling_." Lucas pointed out but quickly shut up when he saw Nathan glaring at him "Just kidding Haley. That was awesome!"

"Yeah….that's what I thought Lukie." Haley smiled as the other girls came onto the court all done with drying their nails. Peyton had on a very chic navy blue color as Brooke liked to say. And Brooke adorned a sparkly pale pink.

"Nice nails, girls. What about yours Haley? Yours are still the same periwinkle blue?" Jake questioned

"How did you know that was a periwinkle blue? Has somebody been looking through Aunt Karen's magazines again?" Haley joked which automatically caused Jake to turn a bright crimson color.

A loud noise interrupted the hearty laughter going on in the group. They turned around and found that someone had just entered the gym. When Haley finally got a good look, she realized who it was. It was the creepy guy from the cafeteria. She quickly maneuvered herself so she was pretty much hiding behind Nathan's body. Nathan, noticing this and being the protective best friend he is, decided he would help her out and stood like a statue right in front of her. He would have to ask her about this weird guy later.

"Is that the little lady that I saw in the cafeteria twenty minutes ago?" Jack asked peering behind Nathan.

"Maybe, maybe not. What's it to you?" Nathan said through gritted teeth.

"Hey honey you mind telling your bodyguard to back off?" Jack asked of Haley

"It's _hal_ey." Haley said as she stepped out from behind her 'bodyguard'

Nathan was getting frustrated with how this guy was looking at Haley and calling her honey like he actually knew her. "He's not my bodyguard; he's my best friend."

"Sure, whatever. So I was on my way out but then I saw you heading here so I thought I would come also." Jack said

"Isn't that called stalking?" Brooke pointed out

"No Ms. I like to speak when nobody is talking to me." Jack responded rudely

"My dad is coming to pick me up. So I was wondering Haley if you needed a ride cause I could most definitely give you one."

Being the sweet girl she is, Haley kindly said "No thanks. I'll probably just catch a ride with one of my friends." Then she turned to her friends and said "Can you guys give me a ride?"

"Sorry hon, but I have to go to dance class and I know Sawyer has her art class since it's in the same building." Brooke apologized

"Jake, Luke?"

"Haley, you know that dad is taking us to the Rivercourt but I'll ask him." Jake said regretfully

"I love it when we go there. Dad is so funny when he loses like five basketballs in the river. One time we actually had to use a branch to get one out of the river." Luke laughed

"See honey? Might as well let me give you a ride. I don't think any of your friends can give you a ride." Jake smugly stated while Haley had on a disappointed face.

Haley knew that Nathan had to get home or his dad would be riding him more than usual. Their 5:00 five mile run was waiting. That's why Haley hadn't asked Nathan for a ride.

Haley never thought that her friends wouldn't be able to give her a ride. She sadly looked up to Nathan with a pleading look. The second she put on the face, he knew he was going to cave. Not that he needed the persuasion; there was no way in hell that he was leaving the most important person of his life with this guy.

"Come on Hales, I'll walk you home."

"But your run and your dad?"

"Whatever, we all know I care about you a million times more." Nathan said with a smile

Haley jumped onto Nathan and hugged the life out of him. She whispered "I love you! I love you! I love you!" into his ear.

"No need for the ride. She's walking home with me." Nathan told Jack

"Whatever, her loss. See ya!" And with that Jack was gone and the smile returned to Haley's face.

Even though Haley was immensely grateful for her savior, Nathan, she could not be more scared of how much Dan Scott was going to blow up when Nathan showed up late. Even a minute past five and Nate was dog food.

_Later on that day 9:30pm_

Haley's backpack was neatly organized and ready for tomorrow. She already had dinner, brushed, and was in her pajamas. Now all she wanted to do was read her book and then go to sleep. Feeling a bit cold, Haley pulled her blankets up to her stomach. She was wearing shorts and a t-shirt that had a picture of Cinderella; how old was she again?

Suddenly she heard a noise outside her window; she scolded herself for forgetting to close it. She brought her blankets over her eyes scared to look at what was climbing into her room.

"Calm down, Hales…it's me" Nathan assured her

"Holy crap! Thank gosh."

Nathan just chuckled but quickly returned to his sad mood which was his original reason of coming over; Haley knew how to make him feel better and now was the time to work her magic. He just hoped that she wouldn't feel mad at herself once he told her why he was in a bad mood.

"…What's wrong Nate?"

"Nothing."

"Puhleeez…look at who you're talking to. Now tell me what's wrong!"

"I'm not going to tell you…cause I know what you're going to do."

"What does that matter? Is it something bad? Of course its something bad; you're in a sad mood and let me guess….it's because of me. Everything bad happens cause of me. Oh my gosh, is it because you walked me home..and your dad….uh oh. I'm right, aren't I?"

All Nathan could was laugh out loud at Haley's ramblings. Even though he was in a _horrible_ mood when he came through Haley's window, she worked her magic again and he was laughing uncontrollably.

"Nathan, stop laughing and answer me!"

"Haha…..okay, okay."

"Now tell meeeeee!"

"It's just my dad got mad cause I was late coming home. Before you say anything it had nothing to do with you."

"Next time I see your father….ugh, you might have to hold me back. That man seriously gets on my last nerve!"

Nathan just smiled slightly.

"Okay, I'll make it up to you by letting you stay over." Haley agreed.

"Uh…excuse me? You don't have to _let_ me do anything. You know your parents would gladly let me stay over. They even told me that they would be glad if they could switch kids with my parents. And that you need some tough love from my dad." Nathan said seriously

Haley was appalled, how could her parents say something like that?

All she could muster up to say was a weak….."What…?"

Nathan knew that tone and he couldn't believe that she took him seriously.

"I never thought….umm…." Haley was about to burst into tears and Nathan realized that from how broken up Haley was that he couldn't continue this stupid joke.

He walked over to Haley and quickly wrapped her up in a hug.

"Hales, I was joking. You know your parents would never say something like that. And I am never ever going to let you have to face what I have to with my dad. You know that I love you more than anyone. I'm really sorry if you took it seriously."

Haley looked up from the hug into Nathan's blue eyes and was about to punch him in the chest for playing that joke on her but as soon as she heard the rest of his little speech, all she could do was settle herself back into the hug and say, "Good, I don't like your dad and I'm never going near him if your not with me." Haley pushed her lips out in a pout.

"So Hales, would you mind _letting_ me stay over?"

"No, I wouldn't mind as long as you let me read before turning the lights off and going to sleep."

"Anything for you best friend." Nathan replied with a cheeky grin

Haley knew she wasn't going to concentrate on her reading when her best friend was lying right next to her with a million things going through his mind. She wished sometimes that he could have her life and she would have his. She knew that Nathan would probably take her away from Dan but she didn't like how she was helpless. She wanted to help her best friend in every way possible and for now all she could do was let Nathan sleep over and comfort him. Boy, did she love this kid.

'He should consider himself lucky.' Haley thought to herself with a smile

"I know that face. What are you thinking? I know that it's about me…" Nathan smirked

"I was thinking that YOU should consider yourself lucky and privileged to know me and better yet, to be best friends with me. Don't take me for granted mister! You never know what could happen."

Suddenly the two kids knocked on Haley's wooden dresser which was right next to her bed…superstitions.

"Nothing is ever going to happen to you. I'm going to be there to protect you always."

"Always means just till death. You're not going to protect me after that?" Haley questioned in a sweet way

"Always and _forever_." Nathan reassured her before they both fell asleep.

**So what did you think? Leave comments with your. I'm so sorry it took me this long to write this but since school ends in like two more actual days…(yay!!) I'll update more. Thank you for everybody that kept with this story. I'm ending my sophomore year which means this summer is all about PSATs and SAT review…wow, fun. But I'm going to make sure to update this fic. By the way, guess what? I had to skip yesterday's OTH SEASON FINALE cause of finals mainly because of my chemistry final..eww/ I'm going to watch it tomorrow so how did you guys like the finale? Don't tell me what happened but what did you guys think of it? Alright long authors note...lol Remember to review…thank you!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Whoa, its an update! Surprise, surprise. **

**(I watched the season finale…finally, and I loved it!!!! Best season finale to date…can't wait for next season. It's going to be so different from anything that has happened on television)**

**Okay, now…I hope everyone likes my update..Enjoy!**

**------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 7**

_"Friendship doubles your joys, and divides your sorrows."  
- Unknown_

Haley had decided that she would head over to Nathan's since it was the weekend and hang out with him for a bit. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a Tree Hill High shirt that her brother had got for her when he went to Tree Hill High.

On Wednesday night after they both had fallen asleep, Haley woke up to find Nathan gone and somehow she was covered in blankets from head to toe. The next day Nathan had told her that he didn't want her to get sick even though it was summer and there was no need for blankets. All Haley could do was laugh and say that he was mental.

She lightly knocked on the door of the Scotts instead of ringing the door bell. And to her dismay, Dan Scott opened the door and he didn't look happy.

"Hey, Mr. Scott. Is Nathan around?" Usually she would just go up to his room but Dan's mood right now didn't seem too inviting.

"Yes, he is but he will not be able to go out. He has some serious work to do; he slacked off this week in his conditioning, so we're doing extra this weekend."

"About Wednesday, the reason he was late coming home was cause of me. I needed someone to walk me home and no one else could. It was really sweet of him and I was so grateful. And I am really sorry if that caused you problems."

"Correct me if I'm wrong Ms. James, but are you not thirteen years old. I would think by that age you could walk home by yourself."

Haley flinched slightly and was taken back by how exceptionally rude her best friend's father was being. "Uhh, my parents usually don't want me to walk home alone. It takes around half an hour by walking and at night time…uhh….they want me to be careful."

"Well you being careful should not interfere with my son's responsibilities at home and since it has, I know you must realize that you're coming here and interrupting him much too often."

"What exactly do you mean by that?" asked Haley in a timid voice

"Just stay away from Nathan especially now. Next year, you are all going to high school and he has to make varsity basketball. This is the time for him to step up his game and he can't do that with you around." Dan said rather harshly

Haley couldn't stop the tears from coming so she quietly excused herself and ran out the door.

Fifteen minutes later, Nathan decided it was time for a snack. He was in his bedroom doing crunches and push-ups with his new Kanye West CD in his stereo system and the volume was way up.

He descended the stairs and headed to the kitchen. But then decided to change his decision and search for his dad. If Dan was out then Nathan was gladly going to stop killing himself with conditioning and actually relax for a bit. But sadly, he found his dad reading the newspaper in the living room. On his way back from the living room, he saw that even though the screen door was closed, his front door was open.

Nathan walked back into the living room and said "Dad, did you go somewhere?"

With a questioning look, Dan responded with a "No, why?"

"The front door is open, did somebody come over?"

"Nobody important, shouldn't you be conditioning?"

"I was just taking a break. I came down for a snack. Did somebody come over to see me or did they come over for you?"

"It was for you but don't worry I talked to her and told her that you were busy."

"Was it Haley?" Nathan asked. He remembered not seeing Haley in her room when he was upstairs and he doubted that Peyton or Brooke came over.

"Yes actually, it was."

Now Nathan was getting pissed, why hadn't his father told him that she had come over and where was she now. Why didn't she just come up?

"What happened?" Nathan questioned

"Nothing, I just put her in her place, that's all."

"What do you mean? Her place is here, with _me_. Don't tell me you said something to her."

"She just came clean about Wednesday and I told her that she had done enough and she should stop hovering over you."

Nathan was about to explode, "She was not hovering, Dad. Get a grip. It's bad enough that you push people away but don't start pushing people away that are close to me. Haley is my best friend and I am never going to stop seeing her." With this, Nathan ran out the door to make sure his dad hadn't done too much damage.

Nathan was going crazy trying to find her. He checked her house, Brooke's house, and Peyton's house. Then he called Jake and Luke and Mouth to make sure that she wasn't with them. He didn't know what to do; what is a boy supposed to do after his maniac father scares his best friend away?

When he finally found Haley, it broke his heart when he saw what she was doing. She was sitting on the swing at the playground they used to go to everyday six years ago. Her face was in her hands and her body was shaking. She was crying quietly to herself and it seemed that she was alone in the world but nothing could be farther from the truth; Nathan was never going to let her be alone and have to face the world by herself.

From where he was standing, about five feet away from Haley, he could see that the top of her shirt was wet from all the tears. Nathan lightly said, "Hales..?"

She quickly raised her head and Nathan could see that her eyes were red from crying.

"Nathan, you shouldn't be here."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I think….I think that we shouldn't hang out so much. I don't want to ruin your chances of being on the varsity basketball team in high school; I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did."

"I know my dad talked to you, Hales. And please tell me you're not actually listening to the crap he said."

"Ummm.." Haley still couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. She just looked down at all the woodchips on the ground and kicked her feet which barely reached the ground.

"No, Haley. Don't listen to him. I don't want you to and you know that all you do is make me play better."

Haley couldn't hold it in anymore. "Nate…." was all she said before jumping off the swing and running to him.

He enveloped her in a hug and held onto her while she soaked up the front of his shirt but he couldn't care less as long as she was in his arms. He tried to ignore the funny feeling that urged him to never let her go. Looking down at the beautiful girl in his arms, he realized things he never had before. Like the way her nose was scrunched up and how every time she raised her fists to wipe away tears, a few strands of hair would fall, covering her angelic face. Nathan tried to shrug that off; he had more important things to deal with.

Suddenly, he heard a quiet whisper, "You agreed that you were never going to let me be alone with him." She sniffed, "And you did today.."

"I'm sorry, baby. I was in my room and the music was on loud and—"

"It's okay. It's not your fault. I still love you." Haley smiled weakly through her tears.

"You sure you're okay?" All Haley could do was nod

"Alright, let's go." Nathan and Haley walked home in peace with Nathan tightly holding Haley's little hand.

**------------------------------------------------**

The gang decided to go for a movie that Sunday night to cheer Haley up. Besides, Brooke forced everyone too. Karen had agreed to give all the kids a ride to the movies so right now all seven kids were arguing on who was taking up the most space. Brooke and Peyton were sitting in the front basically sitting on each other while Jake, Lucas, Nathan, Haley, and Mouth were sitting in the back seat…crushing each other.

All Karen could think was that she should thank Keith when she got home. After all, he was the reason they had tinted windows. Keith had practically forced her into getting tinted windows on her new car; who knew that her husband was so smart. The tinted windows was the only thing saving her from getting pulled over. But you can never be too careful; she was going at a speed of 20 miles per hour.

"Ma…you can go a little faster. We kind of want to see the whole movie." Lucas said

"Excuse me, Lucas Roe but it's bad enough that I'm carrying an illegal amount of passengers since I only have three seatbelts back there with five pasengers. Please tell me Haley at least is wearing a seatbelt."

"She better be, if anything happens, tutor-girl better be safe." Brooke stated

"Gee thanks, Brooke. We feel the love." Mouth laughed

"This thing is killing me. How come I am the only one who has to wear a seatbelt in the back? I want to live life dangerously too!!" Haley shouted

"Dangerously? Yeah, from the girl who brought five pencils to a 3 question quiz. Did you actually expect to break at least one pencil every question?" Lucas laughed loudly

"HEY! Shut up okay? Haven't you ever heard that anything is possible?" Haley defended herself.

"It's alright, Hales. We know you're special." Nathan said while ruffling Haley's hair. Haley quickly smacked away his hand, "I'm not five!"

"You're not!? Alert the media, Haley James isn't five!" Jake exaggerated

"OMG, Karen can I borrow your phone. I just have to call the New York Times and give them the scoop of Haley's sudden change of age." Peyton said joining in.

"Yup, I guess she isn't five. After all, if she was, where is her blanky!?" Brooke teased her.

"Hey…..stop! I loved that blanky, you're not allowed to make fun!" Haley interjected

"We're just joking with you little one." Luke assured her

"Who are you calling little one? Did you all forget that we are all the same age."

"Yeah but Hales, you are the youngest one here." Nathan mocked

"Scott, you better keep quiet." Haley glared at him

"Yeah, I don't think you should be talking Nate. You're like just as young as her. I'm the oldest one and in turn, the most wise." Peyton said while grinning

Peyton was born on March 3rd followed by Jake and Lucas on July 5th. Brooke graced the world with her presence on July 21st. Nathan was born on August 17th and Haley was born on August 23rd. So being the youngest one in the group, Haley was teased a lot.

They finally reached there and Karen promised that when she came back, she was going to bring Keith and his car so that they could ride home legally.

After tons and tons of arguing between Lucas and Brooke who were the representatives from the boys and the girls, they agreed on a movie: Evan Almighty.

"Being the wonderful, young friend I am, I'll get the snacks. Just save me a seat, okay?" Haley smiled

"Sure tutor-girl." Brooke headed in with the rest of the gang

"I figured I stay with you; you know, to keep all the dumb guys from hitting on you." Nathan came up behind Haley.

"Aww…you're so nice." Haley replied sarcastically

"I know." answered Nathan while lazily draping an arm around Haley and leaning onto her.

"Excuse me, fatso. Can you not lean on me? I'm like half your size and I don't feel like falling to the floor with you on top of me."

"Sheesh, a little support is all I need and you won't even give that to me." Nathan said with a fake sad face still leaning on her,

Finally, it was Haley's turn to order so she moved up to the counter looking up at the menu full of unhealthy snacks. As she moved up, Nathan lost his balance and fell on his butt on the floor.

Haley turned around and smirked; "That's what you get for checking out those girls when you should've been listening to me." A pang of jealously had hit Haley when she had realized what he was doing but she didn't know that he would lose his balance and fall on his behind.

She realized she could have some fun with this and pretended that she had told Nathan some heartfelt secrets when he was checking the girls out. But in all reality, she hadn't said a thing but it would be fun to fool him.

Haley gathered the snacks and headed off to the theater leaving Nathan behind.

"I'm sorry, Hales. I didn't realize you were talking."

"FINALLY!" Brooke had made her way out of the theater to check on Haley and Nathan and the snacks, ofcourse. "Let me help you." Brooke grabbed some snacks out of Haley's hands and headed in. All Haley had left in his hand was two sodas.

"I'm really really sorry. Please forgive me…" Nathan said again

"Forgive you for what?" Haley smiled mischievously

"Uh, for what I did back there; not listening to you."

"Oh that….I didn't really say anything. I was just playing with you." Haley said with a wink and headed into the theater following Brooke.

Nathan just stood there dumbfounded before heading in.

He grabbed a seat next to Haley who was sitting on one of the ends. He grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bag that Haley was holding and started eating some.

"Hey Hales..open your mouth, I want to see if I can make some in." Nathan suggested while gesturing to the popcorn in his hands.

"Boys……." Haley tiredly said while opening her mouth.

Nathan threw all the popcorn in his hand at Haley's head, purposefully missing her mouth, so that he would make a huge mess.

Nathan keeping a straight face, even though it was killing him not to laugh, looked at Haley's death glare and said, "_That_ was payback."

**------------------------------------------------**

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	8. Chapter 8

**Enjoy chapter 8 and please review!**

**------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 8**

"_I wonder if he knows he's all I think about at night"_

_- 'Teardrops On My Guitar' Taylor Swift_

_3 years later_

Haley James was standing peacefully at her locker when she felt something hit the back of her head. _Aha, maybe God is giving me a sign that I shouldn't be reaching for my physics book, that I shouldn't even go to class…I hate that class._ But who was she kidding, like she would ever skip a class; she was Haley James, goody two-shoes and totally straight-laced.

All this 'physic-hating' that was going on in her head didn't distract her from the fact that someone had just thrown something at her head. Just about ready to bite whoever it was that did it's head off, Haley took a second to look down by her feet to find the mysterious object that had just flown and hit her. It was a paper airplane and it seemed to have some writing on it.

She bent down and picked it up in order to inspect it more closely. The writing on it seemed to make her heart skip a beat:

**N + H Always & Forever**

_Who the heck wrote that?_ was the only thing that came to Haley's mind. At this point, she was a little freaked out. Normally if something like this happened, she would run and tell Nathan about it but she couldn't today. He was on vacation with his family in Vermont and she didn't want to bother him even though he had told her to call him every chance she got. But Haley knew that to solve problems in his family, he needed to communicate with them and how the heck was he supposed to do that if she was talking his ear off on the phone.

But Haley James wasn't one to back down and go run and hide; she quickly whipped her head around and looked around the hallway of Tree Hill High. Looking at her suspects, she barely noticed the boy standing across the hall snickering at her. But when she finally locked her eyes on him, she couldn't believe it.

With a sudden squeal she ran across the hallway, with paper airplane in hand, and jumped into the boy's arms, her feet dangling.

She just couldn't stop shrieking; now everyone in the hallway was looking at the two of them.

"Chill Hales, you're causing a scene."

"So what! My bestest friend just came home unannounced. Do they expect me to stay quiet? Cause if they do, they really don't know me…but then again, why would they? Sure I'm nice to everyone and say 'Hi' but none of them really know me. Only a certain amount of people really know me and they should consider themselves special, understand?" Haley was in her own little world rambling but Nathan couldn't help but laugh.

"Oops. Sorry Nate. So why are you home so early? Missed me like crazy, huh?"

"That definitely was one of the reasons." Nathan said trying to shy away from the topic.

"So what were the other reasons?" Haley carefully pried.

"Let's just say that my dad has _many_ problems."

"Well honey, I already knew that but if you're just find out now, I'm happy that you now know." Haley grinned.

Suddenly, a realization hit Haley. She was still in Nathan's arms….. and it felt so good. She never wanted to leave. They both brought warmth and smiles to each others faces, isn't that what a good marriage is all about? _Wait, WHAT!? Did I just somehow imply that Nathan and I are married or should be or…something?_ _Nah, nah._ Her mind was full of what a good marriage was all about since her parents had given her the 'what you should look for in a good partner' talk recently. _Yeah, yeah. That's it, that's why I just thought that. No other reason, nope, none at all!_

"So…this is comfortable. I mean me having to carry a sumo wrestler who is cutting off my air supply is really a dream come true." Nathan chided.

Haley smacked him on his arm with a fake angry face.

"Shut up!"

"And Naley is back, everyone prepare to choke and die from all their mushiness." Brooke teased them.

Peyton, Brooke, Lucas, Jake, and Mouth had just walked up; they were also in surprise at seeing Nathan home a week early.

"Oh, pleaseee Tigger. You love our mushiness." Haley laughed.

"Well yeah, that I do. You guys are too cute."

Over the past three years, Brooke and Peyton had kind of formed a fantasy in their own minds about Nathan and Haley. And lately it seemed to have spread to Luke, Jake, and Mouth too since they were also making subtle comments about Nathan and Haley's relationship.

Brooke shared a quick wink with Peyton which didn't go unnoticed by Haley.

"So Nate, why you back early?" Mouth questioned.

"You know; same old, same old." Nathan answered dully.

The whole gang had flinched a bit when Nathan answered knowing exactly what he meant. Dan was probably riding him too hard; the whole group always felt bad for Nathan for having to deal with Dan.

"So who wants to celebrate Nathan's return to Tree Hill?" Jake said trying to lighten the mood.

Haley's hand suddenly shot up in the air and exclaimed, "I do! I do!"

The whole group cracked up at Haley's youthful enthusiasm and decided that they would go bowling after school. Even though bowling wasn't everyone's first choice, Lucas had a certain way with persuading people.

**------------------------------------------------**

"Ewwww, Broody. Do not tell me that I have to wear those." Brooke scrunched up her face while pointing to what Lucas was handing her.

"Sorry Cheery but yes you do. That is if you want to have fun bowling!"

"Ohh, well..I'll take that risk. Boohoo me, but I'll deal." Brooke said with a dimpled smile.

"Haha, Brooke. But no, now come on. Just put on the rental shoes so we can get started. Everybody else is ready." Luke gestured to everybody else who was sitting around on the chairs in front of the computer where they were supposed to enter their names.

"Yeah Tigger..just think about it. The faster you put those on, the sooner this will be over." Haley interjected and everyone else nodded their heads except Lucas.

"Glad you guys are excited for this." Lucas said sarcastically.

"Aww…Luke. Cheer up, I was just joking. You know I can't wait to beat all your butts." Haley sympathized.

Suddenly, Nathan coughed which looked more like laughing. Haley's face turned into a sneer and just stared at Nathan.

"Hmph, sorry. Something got stuck in my throat." Nathan lied.

"Which makes complete sense since you haven't ate anything since lunch and it's 5 now." Peyton laughed.

"Shut up, Sawyer." Nathan said with a smile.

"Alright I'm ready." Brooke stood up from where she was sitting and went to the computer to type in all their names.

"Alright Hot Shot, you're up first followed by Tutor Girl then me then Goldilocks then Mouth then Jake and then finally…Broody." Brooke addressed everyone else.

"I feel the love, Brooke. Putting me last and all…real mature." Lucas chided.

"Well you shouldn't be feeling the love since there was none of that when I was doing that. Actually, it was quite the opposite."

"I think he got that. He was just being sarcastic." Mouth said.

"Can we get started now?" Jake said smiling at everyone's banter. Brooke and Mouth were bickering over Mouth's recent remark. Peyton was throwing bowling balls at Luke while searching for the right weight. And Nathan and Haley were in a different world. After Nathan has told Peyton to keep quiet, Haley had walked over to him with a death glare. But for some reason now, Haley was laughing hysterically at something Nathan had said and Nathan was just smiling like a madman and staring at Haley…lovingly?

_Wow, those two sure have problems. How long is it going to take?_ Jake thought.

"Yeah, we were thinking the same thing." Peyton and Lucas said.

"What?" Jake said.

"We realized that you were looking at Nathan and Haley and I know what you're thinking about so…just wanted to say, I don't know how long it's going to take for them to realize it." Peyton agreed.

"Crazy kids.." Lucas laughed.

"Who you calling kidddd!?" Haley had just heard the last remark of their conversation.

"Oh no, don't start that thing again. Yes you're the youngest but you claim that you're the most mature, etc., blah, blah, blah." Nathan stated.

"You know me too well. Okay, I'll forgive you guys." Haley said talking to Nathan and Lucas. "So Tigger, why did you use our nicknames for the computer?"

"I already put on these icky shoes so don't argue with me alright…tutorgirl!?"

Haley just laughed which soon made Brooke break out in laughter also.

"Okie…crazy girls. Let's get started. Nate, go first." Peyton smiled.

Nathan went forward and grabbed a ten pound bowling ball and went up to the lane and like a professional, rolled the ball down for a perfect strike.

"A strike…anyone surprised? It is just not fair that you can rock at any sport when I can't even rock in ONE." Haley deadpanned.

"Awww Hales…don't be jealous." Nathan laughed.

"Shut up." Haley deadpanned once again.

**------------------------------------------------**

"So that wasn't too horrible." Peyton sympathized about Haley's terrible bowling skills.

"Can we not talk about it?" Haley stated.

"Yeah sure, definitely." Peyton let the subject go.

Besides her unsurprising loss in bowling something else was bothering Haley. And no, it wasn't the fact that she slipped three times while trying to roll her bowling ball down the lane and how this made her look like more of a clumsy girl in front of everybody! But no, that wasn't it. Those kinds of things were a daily thing for her so she just let them go as they came.

This was something different. And it kind of scared her. It was Nathan. Not that he did anything wrong or said anything wrong. Actually, nothing was really unusual. Nothing different happened in their relationship…well nothing, literally.

Haley had been having these feelings…that she couldn't quite explain. Feelings like romantic feelings and what scared her most was that it was about Nathan, her best friend since diapers.

She knew over the last few years that something was changing between them but she always blamed it on hormones and stuff but she was slowly realizing it wasn't just that. Brooke and Peyton obviously had to have a reason to think that Nathan and Haley had some chemistry; they couldn't just be basing it off nothing. And what was more proof was that Haley was feeling it…she was feeling more than friendly feelings to her best friend.

All Haley could think was:

'_Crap. Not good, Haley. What is happening to you?'_

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**Not one of my favorite chapters….but I'd love to know what you think so please leave a few words. Thank you!**


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